Post #7: Book 4 reflection

Character Comparison:
The main character in the memoir Wild by Cheryl Strayed is a woman named Karen Leif that's very similar to the main character in 127 Hours by Aron Ralston, a memoir about the authors own story. These two hero like characters take on a life risking journey facing a lot of hardships along the way. The main conflict of 127 Hours is Aron parts ways with his other friends while they are all canyoneering and ends up falling in a slot canyon and getting his arm trapped by a big boulder. He goes through every desperate measure to get himself out and is eventually set free through... (spoiler alert) cutting his own arm off and escaping after multiple days without food and water.
In the book I read for my book 4 Karen goes on a journey across the Pacific Crest Trial, all through California and Oregon. Before she decides conquer a life changing hike her mother is diagnosed with lung cancer, this becomes very frustrating to their family knowing that their mother is healthier than ever and has never smoked a day in her life. As she sets out for her long journey wearing the matching jumpsuit and bow in her hair that her mother made for her a couple years ago, she's ready to not only accomplish this for herself, but her mother also. She approaches more to keep count dangerous meetings with animals, plants, and weather. This characters are similar in their triumph to accomplish something they have a passion for, while risking their own life's which is rare to find in someone.

Gone Girl trailer

Prezi Book Talk

Post # 6: Book 3 Listicle

The memoir Brain on Fire by Susannah Cahalan exposed me more to the psychological side of the world and to things I never think much about. It's very interesting to be able to constantly remind myself as I'm reading that this actually happened to someone and they actually went through something this insane.
Susannah goes through a journey of her medical mystery as she slowly deteriorates into herself and time is running out on finding the problem inside of her. Its almost inspiring to where of course I wouldn't want to go through this, but the fact that she opened up about her story and decided to write about it for the world to know her story of psychosis.
1- She has pulled me in from the psychology aspect
After she is diagnosed in the book with something else new, she then explains what it is and how its effecting her. Me being interested in psychology and having knowledge of these aspects helps me better understand what is occurring. For example on some pages she has diagrams of the brain labeled with what they are and what parts are being effected.

2- Happy ending but dangerously scary book overall
Of course the ending is what we all wanted after reading over 200 pages of how her life changed so drastically over just a couple of weeks, but you almost wouldn't expect it after how long on she struggles with this deadly situation.

3- Personal writer, doesn't mind other people knowing her business
Susannah Cahalan writes about her month of madness making her "Stunningly brave..." said by NPR. Writing about something this severe and to heart takes a lot of effort to let people know the real story behind something this insane. In the book when she first starts telling about her episode she would have at work, home, etc., my first thought was that she was going psycho, there is no way of her ever going back to normal. I didn't think as in depth as this book takes me.

4- Inspiring and relatable to people who have been in her situation
The audience for this book has to be interested in some kind of relation to the medical and faithful sides of this story. The way her family and she handled things throughout this whole ordeal was amazing. Never giving up, constant support and always hoping for the best with their prayers was all they needed to get through.

5- Conscious and Unconscious
When Susannah was in the hospital she would write her conscious mind and what she was thinking, but then after her seizures it would have a few paragraphs about what she could possibly hear and see while being almost unconscious. This view was interesting, its crazy how she can go through all of that and still remember and seeing conversations after major seizures. 

Truth in Memoir: Blog #5

I think when a book genre comes to non-fiction all personal situations should be 100% true. Even if some parts of your experience that you're sharing aren't the most exciting you still need to tell the full truth because in the end it would be better to have a couple boring pages that readers can skim over rather than your book becoming published and popular once you ended up lying in parts, you're then living with the anxiety of people discovering a twisted lie. The little details that you add to a story to make it more interesting do add up; for example Laila Lalami supported this claim: well maybe if I add just a little tweak here and there no one will notice the difference... Writers will write a novel and then spontaneously decide to turn them from fiction to non-fiction just to make things more appealing. In the end though its very noticeable when a story is over exaggerated. When it comes to me, I'm on the fence about a half truth story being okay and not being okay. If the story is good and I'm interested I honestly wouldn't want to know its all a lie, let me enjoy it while I can. But, at the same time I want the whole truth because if its an awesome story and is inspiring to me, knowing in the end or even if I'm only half way through the book that its all a lie I'm crushed especially if I was motivated or inspired by the story. I think that David Shields is right, we do need lines between non-fiction and fiction especially, I have a bad feeling that if there wasn't a line between them we wouldn't know what to believe and what not to believe in an authors writing. I like being able to relate to a story but I would never again be able to do that not knowing if I'm reading the truth.

Post #4: Adapting Gone Girl

The book I'm reading, Gone Girl has already been made into a movie production. Although there is always struggles from making a book into a movie; choosing actors to fit your characters perfectly, making sure everything is similar from comparing the two, and including the same conflict/ resolution there is always something missing. One scene they would need to keep in the movie from the book is the first initial scene when Amy disappears, this is the start of the whole purpose of Gone Girl. Also every so often there is diary entries that you read and they're all from Amy's perspective which really keeps you interested because the story is told from Nick, her husband's, perspective. That would also be a good essential thing to include in the movie because it can show both internal thoughts and emotions for the main characters. There is some parts where Nick's character gets off track and is telling about his and Amy's past lives, this is also something to definitely keep because they're all tied in with specific parts of the book. One thing that I think would be good for this book is seeing the movie first. In the book you develop a vivid visual of Nick and Amy's home, the cars they drive, and you have an idea of their physical appearances. I have seen the trailer for the Gone Girl movie and the two main characters that play Nick and Amy are almost exactly what I imagined them to look like in the book.

Book 1 project

Reading If I Stay by Gayle Foreman is something you have to be mentally prepared for what happens. It’s a very inspiring book and as you read, you learn things even about yourself that you never discovered. Having a book like this to teach you and help you through even your own life struggles is rare. Of course you have books especially for if you’re going through something particular that you need help with but in this book I can’t even begin to express how much faith and hope it can teach as you go throughout the crazy roller coaster of a life that the main character Mia has. “Losing me will hurt; it will be the kind of pain that won’t feel real at first, and when it does, it will take her breathe away. And the rest of her senior year will probably suck, what with her getting all that cloying your-best-friend’s-dead sympathy that will drive her so crazy, and also because we are really each other’s only close friend at school.” This quote is Mia speaking about her best friend Kim and how her life would be if she decided to stay. I would recommend this book to possibly anyone, some guys may not like the 'sappy love' parts but its good advice for those that aren't sure what girls are thinking and how to sharply grab their attention. For example in the story this is one of the ways Mia describes the feelings going through her when she's with her boyfriend, “And when I felt like I could not take one more minutes, the swirl of sensations hit a dizzying crescendo, sending every nerve ending in my body on high alert.”  There are many elements to this heartwarming story, and many real life situations you could connect to this story to sort of put yourself in it. So we ask the question, want to be a part of Mia's life and story? In stores near you coming soon will be a collection of necklaces. Delicately hanging on the end of a chain will be a key, each key contains a word engraved on the front. Examples of words would be, hope, faith, wish, dream, etc. This necklace represents Mia's journey with her family and friends, the faith she had to get through the hardships of her problems.  You buy this necklace and decide what word best fits your life, then when you come to a realization that someone else in your life needs the word that is on the necklace you pass it on to them drowning their hardships in hope or wishes that things get better for them. This is a good connection to If I Stay because the main idea of this story is believing in something you might not think is possible; Mia gets the choice to stay or go. Which decision would you choose?
 

Post 2: What is a book?

A book is not just page after page with words that can mean nothing, a book can be a movie, music, someone's life or even your own life. In my opinion I think that at least every person in our world has one book that can be similar to their life, as they read they can picture themselves in the story relating every detail to their own. Books are more important to have for us than most people think, not ebooks or books downloaded onto your devices, a physical book that you can write in, annotate, break it down and understand every aspect. For myself a physical book is something that I need I cannot read on my phone, I get too distracted; a text comes in from a friend and immediately I'm thrown off. With an actual book though I can keep my phone away and go outside and read, not having to worry about lighting or being distracted. A lot of books can give you different perspectives and new views on life, some books I will read can make me feel completely different afterwards. Some things are processed in a new way in my head in certain situations and definitely makes me appreciate or think longer about little things that will occur with an outcome that I have to sort of have to accept no matter what.

Why I read

The first book I chose to read for best sellers was If I Stay by Gayle Foreman, the movie does come out August 22nd but this is one story that I would love to read before I see the movie. Also knowing that I will be able to see the movie right after I read the book is very encouraging while I'm reading. There is a lot of conflicts, problems, love, family and faith in this story and those are always some qualities of a book that pull me in. I mostly will stick to reading non-fiction when I can or short stories that my teachers will hand out for me to read or that I'll find online. Short stories that can build up tension are different, it only lasts and takes just a few minutes to put you on the edge of your seat. Everyone always tells you never judge a book by its cover but unfortunately that's something that I will do, I will begin reading a book I find that looks interesting and if I start to become uninterested I will not finish it. I simply will stop reading it and just block it all out in my head. im excited to read a story like If I Stay because it deals with people around my age and real life situations that could happen at any time; it teaches you not to take everything for granted and enjoy every second.